The U.S. court-martial in Okinawa acquitted Staff Sgt. Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, of rape, but the marine pleaded guilty to “abusive sexual contact.”

The case comes on the heels of a rash of recent incidents involving members of the military in Japan. At the end of April, for instance, prosecutors charged a U.S. sailor with murdering a Japanese taxi driver.

For Okinawa, Japan, the current situation calls back the 1995 case when three marines gang raped a 12-year-old girl. The affair caused a backlash against the presence of 45,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

Currently, there are about 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, with about half stationed on the island of Okinawa. Many islanders “are calling for troop numbers to be cut back, citing concerns over crime, noise and pollution,” according to Reuters.

To protect the close relationship between the United States and Japan in light of the recent incidents, the military has instated a number of “liberty rules” in Okinawa. The restrictions have included curfews and travel restrictions, reports the Marine Corps Times.

Although the military presence in Japan has come under scrutiny of late, the U.S. maintains a vast network of bases throughout the world. Catherine Lutz, a professor of anthropology at Brown University says, “Officially, a quarter of a million U.S. troops are massed in 737 major bases in 130 countries in facilities worth $115 billion.” She worries that the presence of these troops abroad may damage the image of the United States.

The case of the marine sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in Okinawa has sparked debate about the presence of U.S. troops stationed abroad. In Okinawa, many people are calling for a scaling down of U.S. troops “citing concerns over crime, noise and pollution,” according to Reuters.

On April 25, 2008 the Associated Press reported, “Prosecutors charged a US sailor today in the stabbing death of a taxi driver.” On the same day, an American military policeman was indicted for reputedly robbing and assaulting a Japanese taxi driver.

A May 8, 2008 article from the Marine Corps Times describes the strict, limiting rules that military personnel must abide by in Okinawa in response to the series of crimes that have recently caused public concern. These “liberty rules” involve curfews and travel restrictions, in the hopes of reining in bad behavior. The article mentions how Okinawa’s troubled wartime history might necessitate extra caution.

Stars and Stripes, the U.S. armed forces’ newspaper, reports that, “from 2002 to 2006, there were fewer rapes, robberies, thefts and drug cases involving U.S. service members, family members and civilian workers.” The statistics might be representative of the “stricter curfew and liberty policies, along with a commander-level emphasis on personal behavior, have helped lessen the number of incidents,” writes Stars and Stripes.

In September 1995, The New York Times reported on the gang rape of an elementary school girl by three U.S. marines in Okinawa. After the incident, critics questioned the need for the stationing of 45,000 American troops in Japan with the Cold War at an end. In particular, the case brought to light the controversial “status-of-forces agreement, which stipulates that members of the American armed forces suspected of crimes will not be turned over to the Japanese authorities until after they are formally indicted,” according to the Times.

Catherine Lutz, a professor of anthropology at Brown University and the Watson Institute for International Studies, highlights the backlash against U.S. military bases throughout the world. “The environmental, political, and economic impact of these bases is enormous, and, despite Pentagon claims that the bases simply provide security, most of the world’s people feel anything but reassured by this global reach,” she says.

In January 30, 2008, founder of the Feminist Peace Network Lucinda Marshall wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times contending that the military’s practice of providing convicted rapists with a military funeral furthers such a culture. She writes, “it is sadly ironic that even though rape and sexual violence are now considered war crimes, our own military persists in practices that perpetuate those crimes.”

A July 1, 2007 article from the Global Policy Forum explains and analyzes the network of U.S. military bases throughout the world. The article displays a map revealing the locations of military bases and troops worldwide and claiming that the Department of Defense controls 30 million acres of land on the planet, including 737 foreign military bases in countries.